Brute Strength - Vol. 4 (after 'Maybe Tomorrow')
by Gemini11
Summary: The grandchildren of the Charmed Ones need the help of their parents and their grandparents in a magical situation involving a woman named Deirdre.


"No, watch it. He's in there somewhere." She whispered to her brother.  
  
"Are you sure?" He asked. "Maybe we vanquished him."  
  
"I don't think so." She replied in a whisper. "Just watch your back and be ready."  
  
"You're positive we didn't get him?"  
  
"Pretty positive." She muttered, and then paused. "Why don't you go first?" She shoved him in front of herself. "You've got a stronger power. You'll do more damage."  
  
"Fine." He whispered, taking the lead. She followed closely and habitually started to wrap her arm around his. He pushed her off. "Yeah, let's hold my hand. That's a great idea, seeing as how I can't use my power without my hands!" He snapped in a quiet voice.  
  
After a few more moments they finally gave up the search and straightened up.  
  
"Maybe we did vanquish him." She said.  
  
They turned around and bumped into someone's chest. They both slowly looked up and saw the warlock that they had been after. She screamed first, and then even he screamed as they both released their powers at once.  
  
The warlock screamed as she froze him and seconds later her brother's lightning orbs blasted him into the wall. He bounced off the wall and landed in the floor. He got up, and she panicked and drove her foot into his nose. The warlock recoiled in pain. Her brother shot another round of orbs at the warlock, blasting him into another wall.  
  
"Stop that!" She screamed at him. "We have to pay for the damages when you bounce them around like that."  
  
He shrugged and pointed when a seven-year-old girl came running into the room. "I got it!" She announced. She hurried over to her sister and handed over the paper.  
  
"Thank god!" She squealed, pulling her brother over so the three of them could read the spell.  
  
Once the spell was done, and the warlock was vanquished. She went to examine the damage done to the wall. He went into the kitchen to check the damages there, and the youngest leaned over her sister's shoulder.  
  
"How's it look?" She asked.  
  
"This is going to be, like, a whole month's worth of allowance." She sighed. "And I mean from all of us."  
  
"That's not good." The little one muttered.  
  
"Well, if Dean would try blasting them down the hall, or out in the middle of the room, instead of into counters, and walls, and furniture then we wouldn't be losing out on mall money." She said in a moody tone.  
  
"That's okay, Di. At least you saved an innocent." The little one said, pointing at the woman curled up in the corner of the room, with her arms over her head.  
  
"I'm too young for this, Traci." Diana sighed, as she went to call someone who could help.  
  
"Dean, who's out with Mom and Dad?" Diana called as she snatched up the phone, heading to the kitchen. "Watch the woman, Traci." Diana ordered.  
  
Traci sighed and went and sat down in front of the woman. Sighing, she sat her chin in her hands and watched the woman shake.  
  
"Let's see," Dean thought. "Dad said Aunt Lila and Uncle Tait, Alecia and David, Hannah and Matt, Melinda and Granma and Granpa went out for lunch, which means you can call Evie or Caleb, Prue or Sean, or Piper or Leo."  
  
"How do you remember this stuff?" She asked, dialing Evie's number to see if she was home.  
  
"Same way I memorized all the American presidents in five minutes before I took that stupid test. Otherwise, I would have failed it, like someone else I know did."  
  
"Hey, shut up." She gave her twin a slap. "I totally forgot about it."  
  
"Yeah, and it completely showed."  
  
"Well that's just--" She stopped talking as she was cut off by a hello. "Oh, Hi, Aunt Evie, this is Di, we have a little problem here at home."  
  
"Yeah, just a little." Dean said.  
  
"No, we vanquished a warlock. He left behind...quite a mess. There's also a woman here, and you know that we're not good at the whole explaining the situation and secret, so that's where you come in."  
  
"We'd just scare the hell outta her." Dean snickered.  
  
"Dean!" Diana pointed a finger at him in warning. "I told you I don't want Traci talking like that. You watch your mouth." She turned her attention back to the phone again. "Thanks. Right. See you then."  
  
Diana hung up the phone and turned to her twin brother. "Time to clean up." She sighed. "I'll get the broom and dustpan."  
  
The two teenagers went to work cleaning all the broken glass up in the kitchen. Traci remained at her post watching the woman, who had calmed down and was breathing normally now.  
  
"How are you?" She asked the woman.  
  
"He wanted to kill me!" The woman screeched  
  
"Right, so you're probably not doing too well, huh?"  
  
The woman sighed as she looked at the little girl watching her.  
  
"Mom is going to have a conniption fit when she gets home." Diana said.  
  
"It won't matter." Dean replied. "Dad will have killed us by that time anyway."  
  
"Yeah, any last words?" She asked as she swept more broken glass into the dustpan.  
  
"Yes." He said dramatically. "I'd like to say -"  
  
He didn't get to finish his sentence; instead he was cut off by a scream. Diana dropped the broom and dustpan and followed her twin brother into the other room where Traci was backing away from the woman. Diana looked to Traci for answers.  
  
Traci's lip quivered as she pointed at the woman, hiding her face in the corner. "She lied."  
  
"What?" Dean asked. "What do mean she lied?"  
  
"She's not an innocent." Traci said, as she put her older brother and sister between her and the curled up woman.  
  
"What are you talking about, Traci?" Diana asked.  
  
The woman turned and faced them while Diana was looking at Traci. She had white eyes, and fangs, but no longer had a nose; she did, however, have two slits above her eyes on her forehead that flapped as she inhaled. Dean just sighed and tugged on Diana's shirtsleeve.  
  
"Hey, Di,"  
  
"Would you quit!" She slapped his hand away from her sleeve. "What, Dean?"  
  
He pointed at the woman and she looked. Her shoulders slumped with her sigh.  
  
"You can't be serious." She muttered and looked up. "What else could go wrong today?"  
  
The woman snarled and blinked into two people. They were both crouched down on the floor, looking up at the kids. Dean pulled Diana back, and Traci backed up when they did. She was peeking around Diana's waist.  
  
"You have to ask that every time?" Dean asked, "Just once would you please not ask that question?"  
  
The crouching women suddenly leapt at them. Diana threw up her hands and froze them in the air and then turned to face her twin.  
  
"Any ideas?" She asked.  
  
"Well, running would be a start." Dean said. "You know, since we don't know what those things are, or what they can do."  
  
"Right."  
  
Diana turned around and snatched up Traci and ran into the kitchen. Dean looked around the room, trying to think of something to do. Diana yanked him towards her by the neck of his shirt. She stuck Traci through the window above the sink. Traci fit through fine, and levitated to the ground to prevent falling. Dean gave Diana a hand up to the sill and she crawled through and fell to the ground with a thud. Dean pulled him self up the counter, and through the window landing on Diana. She rolled to the side pushing him off.  
  
"Thanks!" She muttered.  
  
"How was I supposed to know you wouldn't think to move?" Dean pulled her to her feet.  
  
"We need to get somewhere safe." Diana said.  
  
"Right, did you forget that you called Aunt Evie?" Dean asked.  
  
"Yes, I did." She smiled for a second, and then the smile was gone. "What the hell do we do now?"  
  
"Hey!" Dean pointed a finger at her. "You said no bad mouthing around Traci."  
  
Diana glanced down at her little sister. "Oops, sorry Traci."  
  
Dean turned at the sound of a car pulling into their driveway. He grabbed Diana's hand and pulled her around front. Traci, clinging to Diana, followed. Evie was just getting out of her Blazer when she saw the twins waving at her from the side of the house. She ran over to them.  
  
"Where are they?" She asked.  
  
Dean and Diana exchanged looks of confusion.  
  
"You know? The woman, or thing that she became..." Evie said, watching her niece and nephew. "Ring any bells here at all?"  
  
"How did you--"  
  
"Later. Where..." She glanced up for a moment. "Nevermind, living room."  
  
Evie turned and headed around to the front door, telling them to be careful. Dean shrugged when Diana looked at him. Evie pushed open the front door and casually walked in.  
  
"Dean? Di? You guys home? Traci?" She called out like she would have if she'd just gotten there with no clue what was going on.  
  
The things launched at her from both side, but before they could do anything, Evie had them wrapped up and slamming to the ground. They struggled against their invisible bonds and finally, after exhausting itself, it became one being again. Evie drug it along behind her, pulling on what looked like thin air. She picked up a phone and dialed, and then waited for an answer.  
  
"Mom! Hi." Evie said, cheerfully. "No, I'm fine, but we do have a problem. I'm here with the twins. No, they're fine too, and so is Traci. We have a..." She glanced over her shoulder at the thing she had lying at her feet. She cocked her head sideways. "A fish looking vampire thing... why don't you look it up? A vanquishing spell? That's a great idea, I could definitely use a spell like that. Thanks. Love ya, bye."  
  
She hung up the phone, and looked to hook something in the air. She turned and left the being lying on the floor, struggling to get up. She went back outside where the kids were. Diana was pacing, which was typical, and Dean was sitting on a knee high brick fence-thing with Traci on his lap.  
  
"D'ya get it?" Traci asked when she saw her aunt.  
  
"Yeah, it's hanging around." She smiled. "Mom's on her way over with the spell to vanquish it."  
  
"Thank God!" Diana sighed and threw her arms around Evie's neck.  
  
"So, you saved that thing from a warlock?"  
  
Dean nodded. "She looked normal then."  
  
"Oh, well it's good to know you didn't knowingly protect and save the human vampire fish." Evie said sarcastically.  
  
"So much allowance lost, and for what? A..."  
  
"A human vampire fish." Evie suggested for Diana.  
  
"Right, for a hum-- A what?" She asked turning to face Evie.  
  
"What?" Evie put her hands up in defense. "That's what it looks like to me."  
  
Diana rolled her eyes. "Right. So, did you cocoon it up in a net of light?"  
  
"Is there any other way to capture a human vampire fish?" Evie asked.  
  
"Hmm." Diana muttered. "Okay, then."  
  
"What do we do now?" Traci asked.  
  
"We just sit around and wait on my mother to get here." Evie said.  
  
"That's it?" Diana asked, glancing around her. "What if that thing gets loose?"  
  
Evie dropped her arms over Diana's head and circled them around her neck. "Well, worrywart, if that thing gets loose I'll know before it makes it out the door."  
  
Diana leaned back against her aunt. "Because the light will tell you?" She asked, trying not to laugh.  
  
"Why do you find my power so comical?" Evie asked.  
  
"I just can't understand how we've all got serious powers, like freezing, Dean's orbs..." Diana paused to look over at him. "No pun intended."  
  
"Right." He blushed and looked down.  
  
"There's telekinesis, levitation, and the others, and then there's your light tricks." Diana said. "I just think it's weird. That's all."  
  
"Okay, and freezing isn't a little childish?" Evie asked, turning on Diana. "It reminds me of Simon says. `Simon says freeze!' I bet you were great at that game." She joked, poking Diana in the side.  
  
"Okay, this is pointless." Dean interrupted. "Everyone of the powers in our family can be made fun of. Telekinesis - You're lazy, Levitation - I can fly, I can fly! Who are we? Peter Pan? Uh, Premonitions - Where's the local nut house? I mean, there's something to be said about them all."  
  
"Even yours?" Diana asked with a grin.  
  
"I shoot bluish white balls out of my hands. Don't even get me started." Dean warned.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
All four turned at the voice and saw Prue standing in the yard, looking up at the house. They hadn't even noticed her pull up. Evie whistled and Prue looked over. Diana waved, still stuck in her aunt's arms, and Prue smiled, coming to join them.  
  
"Having a party without the rest of us?" Prue asked.  
  
"It's inside." Diana said, ducking out of Evie's hold.  
  
"Hey, you little squirt." Evie laughed.  
  
"Follow me." Diana led the way back into the house.  
  
Dean carried Traci on his back, and Evie followed last, letting her mother go before her. Prue walked into the house and saw the indention in the wall, and then saw the thing, and then saw the kitchen through the open door.  
  
"Your parents are gonna sh--"  
  
Diana pointed her finger at Prue. "Watch it! Little people present."  
  
Traci smiled up at Prue. Prue closed her mouth and smiled back.  
  
"I was only going to say that your parents are gonna shop for a long time to fix all this." Prue muttered.  
  
"I'm sure." Diana rolled her eyes, jokingly.  
  
"Then they'll have to adopt cause you three'll be dead." Prue added.  
  
"Maybe they'll go easy on us if they think we're hurt?" Dean wondered.  
  
"Nope." Evie said, smiling. "Brent would just heal you and then kill you."  
  
"Oh, right, forgot." Dean sighed.  
  
Prue found the `thing' hanging from the ceiling, or at least it looked like it could be hanging from the ceiling. With Evie's invisible light ropes it looked like it was just hovering there upside-down. Prue poked it in the back.  
  
"This is it?" Prue asked.  
  
Dean and Diana nodded.  
  
"Eww." Prue muttered.  
  
"Just say the spell." Evie prompted.  
  
Prue nodded and whipped out the paper. She glanced down at the thing and then finally started the spell. The thing began squirming around and screaming. Prue ignored it and finished the spell. The thing stopped crying out, looked Prue in the eye, and then lowered its head into its hands and blew up. Prue jumped back a step.  
  
"Icky." She muttered.  
  
"What now?" Dean asked.  
  
Evie draped an arm around Dean's shoulders. "Now we do our victory dance."  
  
"What?" Dean asked in disbelief. "Come on, can't we go out and party?"  
  
Evie brought her hand up to her chin in thought. "Hmm. No."  
  
"We have to be here when Mom and Dad get back." Diana reminded him and then turned to Prue. "Wanna stay for the funeral?"  
  
"They're not going to kill you." Prue laughed.  
  
Diana's face took on a serious expression. "You don't know your nephew very well."  
  
"Yeah, Dad's gonna have our heads up on pikes outside in the yard." Dean commented.  
  
"We'll be grounded for the next week." Traci piped up. "And I didn't even do anything!"  
  
"Just put the blame off on me." Evie said. "I'll deal with Brent."  
  
"Really?" Dean asked.  
  
"No," Diana spoke up. "I can't do that."  
  
"No, really, just tell him it was my fault." Evie said. "It'll keep you out of trouble."  
  
"Aunt E--"  
  
"I don't wanna hear it, Di." Evie cut her off. "Dean, you tell them what I said, okay?"  
  
"I will." Dean smiled.  
  
Alexia came running into the kitchen where Piper was cooking, and Melinda was sitting at the table with Alecia talking. Alexia slapped a pen down in front of her mother, and then handed over a paper.  
  
"Mom, will you sign this here?" Alexia asked.  
  
"What is it?" Melinda asked in return.  
  
"Nothing important." Alexia muttered. "Just sign it?"  
  
Melinda picked up the paper and read it over. "Lexi," Melinda sighed. "How do you keep getting detention?  
  
Alexia shrugged and slumped into a chair. "It's not like I try to."  
  
"Well, can't you just sit in the back of the class and stay quiet, and do the homework?" Melinda asked, picking up the pen.  
  
Alexia shrugged again. "I tried that."  
  
"What's that?" Piper asked, coming over to see what was going on.  
  
"Just a note from Lexi's teacher. I have to sign it, so she knows that I saw it." Melinda sighed as she wrote her name down.  
  
"You're as bad as Phoebe was." Piper chuckled, poking her granddaughter in the shoulder.  
  
"What do you mean?" Alexia asked.  
  
"When Phoebe was your age she was always getting into trouble." Piper glanced over at Melinda. "She was fighting a lot. It was hard on her, not having a mother I mean. Well, not having a father either as far as that goes." Piper smiled at Alexia. "She got picked on a lot, and teased, and she always stood up for her family. She did it the wrong way, but she did it."  
  
"I haven't been getting into fights though." Alexia sighed. "I just..."  
  
"What?" Piper prompted.  
  
"I dunno, I day dream a lot." Alexia answered. "It's not like I mean to. I just kinda start thinking and then go off in my own little world."  
  
"What kind of world?" Alecia asked.  
  
"Well, ya know, the kind where no one wants to hurt anyone else. The kind where dragons exist, but they're peaceful creatures. The kind of place where fairies live, and where magic isn't so bad. A place where I don't have to keep this big secret. We all live in a huge castle too! There are beautiful flowers everywhere around us, and if there aren't, our servants get punished. Unicorns play in our backyard, and when it rains, it rains sparkles, not water." Alexia giggled. "I don't have to socialize with people who don't understand me. A place where my little sister and my cousins can be my best friends and no one thinks it's weird. I'm accepted for who I am. I can ride horses whenever I want to, and I can swim any time day or night, in any kind of weather - cause the water's always warm." Alexia sighed, and looked out the window. "We ride around on clouds, they're like bikes, without the pedaling. Rainbows are sidewalks, trees are never cut down, and there is no such thing as  
hunger or abuse, no violence, and no homelessness. There is no such thing as pollution because it's a perfectly clean place. Most importantly..." Alexia glanced over at Piper. "There isn't any death. People live forever, no matter how old they are." Alexia reached over and grabbed the note and then started folding it.  
  
"That's an awfully noble place for a ten-year-old to be dreaming about." Alecia pointed out.  
  
"Aunt Al, I may only be ten years old on the outside, but on the inside I'm a lot older and wiser than I should be." Alexia stuffed the paper into her pocket and left the room calling for her sister.  
  
"That's a very self-sacrificing daughter you have there." Alecia said in awe.  
  
"She's never really been selfish." Melinda replied. "She's always worried more about her sister and the rest of the family."  
  
"Sounds a lot like you, Aunt Piper." Alecia smiled.  
  
"Maybe she's got some of my characteristics, but she reminds me of Prue all the time." Piper smiled back. "She's always looking out for her sister, and even when Parker left she knew what she had to do."  
  
"She's right though." Melinda sighed.  
  
"About?"  
  
"You do grow up a lot faster in this family than you normally would."  
  
"That's true." Alecia nodded. "Childhood doesn't really seem like a childhood, it's more like a crash course in adulthood. If that makes any sense at all."  
  
"Mommy!" Gwen came running into the room.  
  
"What, Gwenny?"  
  
"Aunt Evie is here." Gwen said quietly. "She says she wants to know if she can come in."  
  
"Of course she can come in. She's your aunt." Melinda laughed.  
  
"But you said not to let anyone in without asking you or Grams first."  
  
"That I did." Melinda nodded. "Well, go tell her I said yes, she can come in."  
  
"Okay..." Gwen said, and began disappearing in an array of blue lights.  
  
"Gweneth!" Melinda shouted.  
  
Gwen stopped mid-orb and came back down, materializing into a little girl again. "Sorry, Mommy." Gwen said, looking down. "I forgot." She sighed and turned to run to the door.  
  
A few minutes later Melinda, Alecia, and Piper could all hear giggling coming from the other room. Evie came into the room with a big smile, carrying Gwen upside down by her feet. Holding her niece out if front of her as she walked, Evie came up to the table where her cousins were sitting.  
  
"Hello, Melon."  
  
"Hi, twinkles." Melinda replied with a wink, using the nickname her cousin had acquired when she was little. Whenever Melinda had been upset Evie would make light flash all around the room, it looked like there were Christmas tree lights all over the place twinkling.  
  
Evie glanced at Alecia across the table and set Gwen down on her feet, right side up. "Hey, Ally cat."  
  
"Nice to see you, Evelyn." Alecia said.  
  
Evie made a gagging sound. "Not the full name!" She swatted Gwen on the butt. "Go play, rug rat."  
  
"Come see me before you leave!" Gwen told her as she ran off to find her sister again.  
  
"What're you up to?" Melinda asked.  
  
"Oh, nothing." Evie whistled. "No, seriously, I just came from Brent's house. We had a little business to take care of there. I thought you two were supposed to be out to lunch with him?"  
  
"Oh, we were." Alecia answered. "We just left early, we had to drop off some movies at the rental place before they became overdue."  
  
"I just thought I'd drop by and see my aunt." Evie said, winking at Piper. "Since she's been disappearing a lot lately."  
  
"What are you talking about? Disappearing...hah!" Piper joked.  
  
"Well, I can tell you that Brent is going to be pretty mad at me soon..."  
  
"Why?" Piper asked.  
  
"When I was over at--" Evie stopped talking and looked up. "What?"  
  
Melinda and Alecia watched her quietly. Piper poured her a cup of tea.  
  
"Where?" Evie asked, still looking up.  
  
Melinda glanced up; she knew whom Evie was talking to. She still found it hard to believe that the light actually...some how, talked to her. Evie didn't usually talk out loud to it, and when she rarely did, she only did it around family. Evie suddenly gasped, and her chin dropped to her chest. Her astral self appeared next to her, and she sighed.  
  
"Not this room!" She turned around and ran through the counter and through the wall.  
  
"She just went through the wall!" Alecia said, jumping out of her seat.  
  
"Yeah, I thought you'd seen her do that." Melinda muttered.  
  
"No!" Alecia said, looking at the wall, carefully taking her seat again. "How long?"  
  
"About three weeks now." Melinda answered, pouring herself a new cup of tea.  
  
Alecia sighed and slid her cup to Melinda to fill up. "You'd think I'd be used to strange, magical things happening by now." She shrugged. "But I'm not. We can orb and Evie can walk through walls with her astral self...I guess that's only a fair trade off."  
  
Piper started laughing as she sat down next to Alecia. "My dear girl, you've got a lot ahead of you."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
Evie ran through the kitchen wall, and shivered. I`That always feels creepy' /I She thought. She ran up the stairs and saw a flicker ahead of her. She ran towards the flicker, and shook her head in disbelief. I'I can't believe they still dare to come into the attic in this house' /I She tried to kick open the door, but her foot went through it. She rolled her eyes and jumped through. She immediately flicked her hands at the air, and sent a rope of light out. It wrapped around something standing behind the podium where the Book of Shadows sat. She tugged on the rope and knocked over the podium, pulling the being forward.  
  
A woman appeared as she slammed into the floor. She shook her head and jumped up, glaring at Evie. Evie quickly sent a net of light out to wrap around the woman's arms. The woman shrugged and tried to break out of the bonds.  
  
"Let me go!" She muttered angrily, her voice thick with a foreign accent.  
  
"Fat chance!" Evie replied.  
  
The woman sighed and stopped fighting. "Fine, don't let me go. What do I care?"  
  
Evie was a little confused. "What?"  
  
"I was only going to try and find a spell to make myself visible to you..." She glanced down at her very visible form. "But obviously your power makes me visible, or else I just needed a good smack."  
  
"I'm sorry?"  
  
"Look, I need some help. I thought that maybe coming to you, as an invisible being, would be a bad idea. Especially since my power is backfiring, and I can't seem to become visible again after I cloak myself."  
  
"Who are you?" Evie asked cautiously, deciding her accent was Irish.  
  
"My name is..." She paused and looked Evie over. "You are a Halliwell aren't you?"  
  
Evie nodded. "Yes, well...I was married, but yeah, I'm of that family."  
  
"Okay, my name is Deirdre Flynn." She answered. "Now, please, whatever you're doing...release me?"  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"I told you. I need help."  
  
"What for?" Evie pressed.  
  
The woman's green eyes turned down, and her fiery red curls fell down around her face. "People are dying...my family is in danger. Our people are in danger. Children are being taken away from their homes in the night. Not by people, not by animals or anything else of that sort...they're being taken by magical beings."  
  
"What kind of magical beings?" Evie asked, releasing the net of light.  
  
Deirdre sighed and set the podium back up. "We're not sure. We've tried to stop them, my family has, I mean. We've tried everything we can, but we're only low class witches. We don't have the power, nor the numbers that are required to defeat these things. They're huge beasts, with claws that are razor sharp, skin like armor, and eyes like cold steel. They're practically immune to all our powers. We can't hurt them with weapons, guns have no effect, and fire doesn't seem to phase them. We...we don't know what to do."  
  
"I think we need to go downstairs." Evie motioned towards the door. "We'll talk about--" She began but was cut off as her astral self rejoined her body. She inhaled deeply and looked around the kitchen at Melinda, Alecia, and Piper, who were watching her carefully.  
  
"We have a visitor." Evie told them before running out of the kitchen.  
  
"You're from where?" Melinda asked again.  
  
"I told you, I'm from Ireland." Deirdre replied.  
  
"And you used a spell to bring yourself here?" Alecia asked.  
  
"Yes." Deirdre answered.  
  
"Because monsters with claws, and armor skin are stealing your children?" Piper asked.  
  
"Yes! Do you not believe me?" Deirdre was getting frustrated.  
  
"It's not that." Piper told her. "Evie, please call your mother and tell her what's going on. Ask her to call the others." She turned to face the Irish lady as Evie went to find the phone. "Would you like something to drink?"  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"If your powers, and the powers of the rest of your family, won't hurt these things then what makes you think that we can?" Alecia asked.  
  
"Because..." Deirdre looked up at Piper. "You're one of the Charmed Ones."  
  
"Oh dear, I'm sixty seven years old. My `Charmed One' days are well over." Piper said gently. "I don't have that kind of energy anymore. I can't handle that kind of stress either."  
  
"You still battle warlocks and demons though!" Deirdre said, standing up.  
  
"Yes, I do." Piper nodded. "However, I don't do it alone. I have my sisters, my children, my nieces and nephews, and my grandchildren to help me. They handle all the tracking, and fighting now. My sisters and I just use our powers, and cast spells when we need to."  
  
Deirdre dropped into her chair, gawking at Piper, her hope seeping away. "You're telling me that I was sent here to request the help of the Charmed Ones, but they are retired?"  
  
"I'm too old to travel to Ireland and battle some giant monsters." Piper said, with regret in her voice.  
  
"Then I need not waste anymore time. I must return to Ireland and find a way to defeat these things." Deirdre stood up and started for the stairs.  
  
Piper caught her arm. "You shouldn't leave yet. We'll have my sisters come over; they'll come up with something. Maybe we can find a way for you to defeat these things."  
  
Deirdre sighed and returned to her seat. "I can't believe I've come all this only way to find that the most powerful witches ever are old ladies."  
  
"We may be old ladies now, but when we were younger we did more than our fair share of protecting the innocents. We've been put through more hell than you can imagine, and just because we're old and tired now doesn't mean we can't still help."  
  
Evie came back into the Solarium and glanced around the tension filled room. Piper looked up at her expectantly.  
  
"Mom is on her way, she called Aunt Phoebe, and I also called Brent, Hannah, and my sister. They're all coming. Hannah is bringing Rachael and Brigit. Brent said he's going home to get the twins and Traci first. He is also stopping by your house..." Evie nodded towards Alecia. "To get Robbie and Keith. Lila is bringing Scott and Laine, and she's stopping by my place on the way to get Ethan."  
  
"Why is everyone coming?" Melinda asked.  
  
"Aunt Prue said she thought it best that we all be there in case we're all needed. She said anyone who has powers is to be there." Evie explained, sitting down next to Melinda and Alecia.  
  
"I'll call my husband and we'll see if he knows anything." Piper told Deirdre.  
  
Evie caught Piper's arm. "Aunt Prue said not to call Leo or Marcus until she gets here."  
  
Piper sighed and slunk back in the chair. "Fine."  
  
"Well, obviously three old ladies can't go to Ireland and kick butt." Prue said. "However, we could go and cast spells, and try potions, and I don't know, guide you?"  
  
"So, you can still help?" Deirdre asked with renewed hope.  
  
"We can sure try." Prue replied.  
  
"Leo, go ask Them what They know." Piper said.  
  
Leo nodded. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He turned and glanced at Marcus and orbed out.  
  
"I think I'll go too." Marcus said and orbed away.  
  
"Mother?" Melinda spoke up.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"If you, Aunt Phoebe, and Aunt Prue are going to Ireland to fight some monstrous beasts, then you better be ready to take your children with you. There's no way I'm staying here while you're out there doing something like that."  
  
"I'll be coming along as well." Alecia said and then glanced at Brent and Hannah. "And I can assume that I speak for my brother and sister when I say they'll be coming too."  
  
Brent and Hannah both nodded. "I'm sure as hell not letting my mother run in there with no protection." Brent said.  
  
"Well, Lila and I are going whether you guys want us to or not." Evie said.  
  
"Then who will take care of the children?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"I guess they're just have to come along." Hannah said.  
  
"You can't be serious..." Prue spoke up. "Laine is only six years old for goodness sake, and Brigit, well she's only five! You can't seriously want to take them into danger like that."  
  
"They'd be safer with us that here, alone, with no one to protect them if something happens." Evie said. "We could leave them with Caleb, or David, or some other mortal in the family, but then what happens when a warlock or demon attacks?"  
  
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Phoebe said. "Let's wait and see what Leo and Marcus find out before we start planning anything."  
  
"If I may say something?" Deirdre asked.  
  
"Go ahead." Piper nodded.  
  
"Back home there are children as young as five helping us. We protect our young with extreme care, especially since they're who these creatures are after." Deirdre told them. "Even though they are young they are a valuable help. Sometimes the young think in ways that we do not. They come up with plans from...from cartoons, even, that they have seen that actually work. We've captured two of these beasts using a plan that was seen on a cartoon with Bugs Bunny, or that coyote. The children's creative nature and their imagination come in very handy."  
  
"See?" Evie said. "They should come too. You never know when they'll be needed."  
  
Prue rolled her eyes and sighed. "I hate putting my grandchildren and grand nieces and nephews in danger like that."  
  
"Let's just try relaxing until Leo and Marcus get back." Phoebe suggested.  
  
Brent turned to Evie. "Can I speak with you?"  
  
Evie grinned. "About what?"  
  
"I think you know, my dear cousin." Brent reached out and took Evie by the arm.  
  
"If you'll excuse us." Evie said to everyone else in the room. She winked at the twins and turned to follow her cousin out of the room.  
  
"Mommy?" Laine spoke up from the doorway.  
  
Lila glanced up from the chair she was sitting in. "What are you doing in here, sweetheart? You're supposed to be in the basement with your cousins and brother."  
  
"Are we going on a trip?" Laine asked.  
  
"Possibly." Lila answered. "Go back downstairs."  
  
"Aw, Mommy!"  
  
"Now, Laine." Lila ordered.  
  
Laine dropped her head and walked out of the room, heading down to her cousins' room.  
  
"You are going to come back with me, aren't you?" Deirdre asked.  
  
"If it's necessary." Prue answered.  
  
Deirdre sat back with a grin. However, little Laine had turned back to ask for a snack, and she was the only one who saw the red glow in Deirdre's green eyes. She gasped and turned, running to the basement. Deirdre's gaze wandered to the spot where Laine had been standing. Her lips fell into a tight line, and she narrowed her eyes - the grin slowly returning with a plan.  
  
"Laine, stop screaming! I'm trying to watch television here!" Robbie said.  
  
"Scott!" Laine ran to her brother and tugged on his shirt.  
  
"What?" He asked, obviously aggravated.  
  
"We're in trouble, and Mommy doesn't know it!" The six-year-old hissed.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Scott asked, peeling her hand off his sleeve.  
  
"I saw the lady's eyes glow red!"  
  
"And I'm the tooth fairy." He replied.  
  
Laine leaned back and looked at him seriously. "You are not!" She paused, looking at him. "Are you?"  
  
"No, Laine. I was being sarcastic." Scott answered. "Go play with Brigit."  
  
Laine sighed angrily and turned to Dean and Diana who were playing cards with Rachael and Alexia.  
  
"Dean! You hafta listen to me!" She whined.  
  
"What's wrong?" Dean asked, scooping her up into his lap. "Your turn." He told his sister.  
  
"The lady isn't good." Laine answered.  
  
"What lady?" Dean asked, paying more attention to his cards.  
  
"The lady--" Laine began but was cut off. She glanced over at Diana and Alexia. Dean dropped his cards when she began shaking. She started clawing at her throat and when she tried to inhale all that was heard was a raspy attempt at drawing a breath. Diana jumped up and plucked Laine from her brother's arms. She sat her down on the bed and kneeled in front of her.  
  
"Laine, what is wrong? Can you tell me somehow?" Diana asked, hoping to get a sign of some sort.  
  
Laine brought her hands up and made a crushing motion, as if gripping a baseball bat.  
  
"Robbie! Get over here now!" Diana screamed at him.  
  
Robbie dropped his glass, pop pouring onto the floor and ran to Diana's side. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Don't know, just heal her!" Diana ordered, yanking his hands up to Laine's throat.  
  
Robbie's hands emitted a golden glow and before he finished Laine's eyes closed, and she fell to the side, against Dean. Diana shoved Robbie aside accidentally, and yanked Laine up by the shirt. She hurriedly stuck her fingers to Laine's throat and felt a strong pulse. She sighed deeply in relief and gently lowered Laine back to the bed. She placed a hand over Laine's chest and felt it rise and fall with each breath. She sighed and slumped to the floor. She took a few deep breaths and then turned to Robbie. Robbie yelped as Diana yanked him into a hug and squeezed the life out of him.  
  
"What was she telling you?" Diana asked Dean as soon as she let Robbie go.  
  
"Something about the Lady being bad." Dean answered.  
  
"Lady? What lady?" Diana asked, mostly to herself.  
  
"Prolly the lady up wif the gwown-ups." Brigit answered, while stacking her blocks.  
  
"What?" Dean turned to face the five-year-old.  
  
Brigit looked up with a smile and pointed up. "The red haired lady. I didn't like her when I seen her. She looked like the bad lady from my storybook. She had the same red hair."  
  
Dean glanced at Diana. The rest of the children were all standing up around the bed now, trying to figure out what was going on. Diana sighed and put her head in her hands.  
  
"We have to think up a plan." Diana said. "Right now she's pretending to be a good-guy so something isn't right."  
  
"Maybe we should call Evie." Dean said.  
  
"How?" Diana asked.  
  
Dean glanced at the lamp on the table. "I know Morse code. Maybe the light will get the clue and send her the message."  
  
"You think?" Diana asked.  
  
"It's worth a try." Dean answered.  
  
Evie was in the Solarium with the others still waiting on Leo and Marcus. She sighed; she hated the waiting. She never liked not knowing what was going on. All the light around the room suddenly started flashing like crazy.  
  
"Would you calm down?" She asked suddenly.  
  
Everyone turned to look at her. She had broken the awkward silence.  
  
"Would who calm down?" Melinda asked.  
  
"Um..." Evie looked around the room, paying more attention to the flashes. She soon caught the message and glanced at Melinda. "All of you, you're so uptight." Evie stood up. "I have to get out of here, I can't take all this tension."  
  
She walked out without giving anyone the chance to respond. Deirdre's eyes followed her, but she wasn't aware of Evie's ability to `talk' with the light. She didn't know Evie was actually receiving a message. Evie went into the kitchen and glanced behind herself to make sure no one followed her. She opened the basement door and went in.  
  
Dean was in the corner of the room, flicking the lamp on and off systematically. Evie walked into the center of the room and cleared her throat. Every child in the room jumped, and Alexia nearly used her power on her. Dean smiled when he saw her.  
  
"It worked." He stated.  
  
"What did?" Evie asked. "The constant flashing?"  
  
"I was sending you a message." Dean said, feeling insulted.  
  
"I know." She sighed. "What do you need that I had to sneak down here for?"  
  
"That woman that's up there?" Diana said. "She's not good. She's evil."  
  
"What?" Evie slowly asked, lowering herself onto the bed.  
  
"I seen her eyes glow red." Laine told her. "When I tried to tell Di and Dean my throat closed off."  
  
Evie brought her hand up to her chin. "Well..." She turned around and tugged on the air, and a string of blue light fell down into her hand. "Go get Melinda, but don't let anyone see you." Evie let go of the string and it bounced back up, disappearing as it left.  
  
"What are you going to do?" Robbie asked.  
  
"I don't know." Evie said. "I certainly can't go in there and attack her. They'll all think I've flipped." Evie inhaled deeply and slowly let the breath out. "Rachael, aren't you telepathic?"  
  
Rachael looked up at her Aunt. "I have a little bit of telepathy, but I can't use it real well."  
  
"Can you use it well enough to get your Aunt Alecia down here as well? She's not as used to the light calling her, and she could miss it. I used to call Melinda with the light all the time, so she is used to it."  
  
"I could try." Rachael said.  
  
"Then do it."  
  
"Well, Mother, I just think that maybe--" Melinda paused as she glanced at the doorway and saw the blue string of light dancing around, waving at her.  
  
Piper stopped arguing to follow Melinda's gaze. "What?"  
  
"Sorry?" Melinda asked, looking back. Piper shook her head in question and Melinda gasped. "Oh! Right, sorry, I just lost track of what I was saying." She looked down for a moment. "You know what? It wasn't important anyway." Melinda glanced down at her watch and jumped out of her chair. "Oh, I have to call the club! I was supposed to tell Maria that Jean was relieving her at eleven. Maria hasn't met Jean, and if I don't call then she won't let Jean take over." She started heading for the doorway. "If you'll excuse me..."  
  
Melinda hurried to the phone in the kitchen, picked it up, and glanced at the door. She waited a few minutes and set the phone down and went to join her cousin and the children in the basement.  
  
Alecia watched Melinda run out of the room. Piper turned to continue talking with Phoebe. Alecia sighed and began picking at a leaf on a plant beside her. Prue slapped her hand jokingly and told her to knock it off. Alecia leaned back and heard her name called. She leaned up again and looked at Prue.  
  
"What did you say?" She asked.  
  
Prue looked around, confused. "I didn't say anything."  
  
"You didn't say my name?" Alecia asked.  
  
"Nope." Prue shook her head.  
  
Alecia leaned back again, and heard her name called again, She looked around the room. No one was talking, yet she was hearing her name. She waited a few minutes and she heard the word `basement'. Once again no one was talking. Finally she heard a full sentence. I'Alecia, sneak to basement. There's trouble.' /I She looked over at where Melinda had been. She realized that Melinda didn't have the club open that night because they were remodeling the floor. She looked down and realized that Melinda had probably been called, like she was being called.  
  
"I have to use the restroom. Please excuse me." Alecia said.  
  
She stood up and left the room casually. She snuck into the kitchen and down into the basement. Deirdre noticed that she left, and didn't think anything of it. Piper however, cocked her head and looked at Phoebe.  
  
"The club is open?" She whispered.  
  
Phoebe shrugged. "I guess so."  
  
"I thought they were fixing the flooring." Piper said.  
  
"So did I." Phoebe replied. "Your daughter runs it, you go figure."  
  
Piper leaned back, trying to make sense of everything. Prue started asking Deirdre questions about her home, and the land around it. Deirdre acted normal ask she carried out a regular conversation with the Charmed Ones, after already trying to kill one of their grandchildren.  
  
Laine finished explaining her story to Melinda and to Alecia about the woman. Melinda sat back on the bed in thought. Alecia watched her, knowing she was trying to create a plan.  
  
"I could orb up to the attic and come back with the book." Melinda said. "We could look for a vanquish."  
  
"I was just thinking that the woman Mom vanquished earlier, or rather the thing she vanquished...anyway, when it was in its demonic form its eyes glowed red."  
  
"They had white eyes." Dean argued.  
  
"They did, but when I trapped her in that net they started giving off a reddish glow." Evie explained.  
  
"So, you think we should get the book?" Alecia asked. "Dad and Leo have been gone for an awful long time. Maybe they know about the woman..."  
  
"Maybe." Evie agreed.  
  
"But our best bet is to just get the book and look anyway." Melinda said. "You never know, we might fight a vanquish in there. If she's remotely related to whatever Aunt Prue vanquished earlier, then maybe the spell will be there, if it's not the same one that she used."  
  
"Sounds like a good idea." Alecia finally agreed.  
  
"You know, this would actually explain what she was really doing in the attic when I found her." Evie said. "For some reason I didn't really believe her when she said she was just looking for a spell so that we could see her."  
  
"Well, it's a good thing you caught her then." Melinda said. "Even if there is nothing in the book, I'd feel safer hiding it away from her. Obviously, sitting in the middle of the attic in plain site it isn't really protected."  
  
"Go get it, Mel." Alecia urged. "The sooner we get rid of her the better."  
  
Melinda nodded and orbed up to the attic as soon as Piper and Phoebe came into the basement. Alecia and Evie jumped when Piper cleared her throat. The children saw them come in.  
  
"What's going on down here?" Phoebe asked curiously.  
  
"Well," Evie started. "It seems we have a small problem."  
  
"Where is everyone going?" Deirdre asked, glancing around the room.  
  
Lila had previously gone to see what was keeping Melinda, Alecia, and her little sister. The only ones still in the room with Deirdre were Brent, Hannah, and Prue.  
  
"Probably checking on the children." Hannah spoke up. "Melinda is very protective of her children, Alecia always thinks the boys will fight - even though they never have before, Lila is just very motherly, and Evie just likes to be around the children."  
  
"What about Piper and Phoebe?" Deirdre asked.  
  
"They probably got caught up when they went to see what the hold us was." Brent replied. He also felt something weird was going on. "Aunt Prue, why don't you go remind them that we have a guest?"  
  
Prue was joggled out of though by her nephew's words. "Right, I'll do that. I'll be right back." She got to the doorway and turned with a smile. "I hope anyway..." She added.  
  
She went down to the basement and found Piper, Phoebe, Melinda, Alecia, Lila, and Evie all crowded around the Book of Shadows. Prue came up behind Evie's shoulder.  
  
"What's going on?" Prue asked.  
  
"Deirdre is a demonic creature." Lila answered. "Evie said you vanquished one earlier... where was the spell you used?"  
  
"Whoa, just hang on." Prue said, holding her hands out. "Fill me in."  
  
Evie told her what Laine had said and explained that she had a strange feeling when she caught Deirdre in the attic to begin with, and then filled in the other details. Prue sat down on the bed with them.  
  
"Someone has to go back." Prue announced. "She's starting to wonder why we're all disappearing."  
  
"Oh," Melinda muttered. "Well, I guess I'll go." She got up and kissed Alexia on the head on the way out. "If you need me just have Evie give me a twinkle." She winked and went back to the Solarium.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Deirdre asked when Melinda came back.  
  
"Oh, no. Nothing is wrong." Melinda replied casually. "Little Laine just choked on some candy. She's fine though." Melinda took her seat and glanced over at Hannah.  
  
"Well, children will be children." Deirdre chuckled. "Am I right?"  
  
"Yeah, they're always getting into some kind of trouble." Melinda smiled.  
  
"I wonder what's taking them so long up there." Hannah thought aloud, looking up.  
  
"Maybe they got sidetracked." Melinda suggested. "You know how they do that a lot."  
  
Hannah looked confused at first, but then looked at Melinda and noticed the intense stare she was receiving from her cousin. "Oh, yeah. Dad used to get distracted all the time."  
  
"Right." Brent laughed. "Like that once when he said his brother got a hold of him and he missed dinner. Mom was so mad at him for not having a business related reason for bailing."  
  
"I remember that." Hannah said. She couldn't believe that Brent hadn't noticed that something strange was going on. She decided there was a reason that Melinda was acting like nothing was wrong, so she decided not to act suspicious. She figured it probably had to do with Deirdre.  
  
"Well, that's the spell I used this morning." Prue said, pointing at a page.  
  
"A Pfur...You wanna try pronouncing it?" Phoebe turned to Piper.  
  
"Prutha...No, Alecia?"  
  
"What does it matter? Let's just go get rid of her." Alecia responded.  
  
"Good idea." Evie said dramatically.  
  
"What if the spell doesn't work?" Diana asked.  
  
All the adults turned to look at the teenager. Evie looked back at her mother.  
  
"She has a point." Evie said. "What if it doesn't?"  
  
"Then we...Piper blows her up?" Prue suggested. "Look, let's worry about that after we find that the spell doesn't work."  
  
"So, in other words, we barge in there, attack her, say the spell, and hope that it works?" Diana asked.  
  
"Basically, that's the plan." Phoebe answered. "But you're staying in here."  
  
"What?" Dean and Diana said together.  
  
"You can't make us stay down here!" Dean argued. "What if you need help?"  
  
"There are enough of us adults that we'll be fine." Phoebe answered.  
  
"This is a crock of -"  
  
"Dean!" Diana cut him off.  
  
"Whatever!" He angrily slumped down on the floor against the bed.  
  
"Dean, if we need you then we'll find a way to let you know." Alecia said. "But right now just stay here and watch the kids. If she does make it down here to get the book, then it will be up to you guys to keep each other and the book safe."  
  
"Fine." He sighed.  
  
"So, we going in there casually, or with guns flying?" Evie asked.  
  
"We'll go in casually." Prue said. "I have an idea to get her to attack us."  
  
Prue, Lila, Evie, Piper, Phoebe and Alecia all returned to the Solarium and took their seats. Deirdre looked pleased that they were back. She smiled at each one as they took their seats.  
  
"Is everything alright?" She asked.  
  
"Everything is just fine." Prue answered.  
  
"Oh, Prue, that reminds me..." Piper began, sticking to Prue's plan. "You never said how that vanquish went this morning. Was there any problems?"  
  
"Oh no, Evie had her pretty much tied up." Prue said. "I just went in there and cast the spell. You should have seen this thing though, she was revolting. She had these, like, nose flaps up on her forehead, and this horrendous stench, her breath was worse than even that."  
  
Evie glanced at Deirdre and saw her nostril flare. Evie glanced over at Alecia and winked.  
  
"She's right, Aunt Piper. The twins say she was a beautiful woman, and then she turned into this butt-ugly creature. She split into two of them as well, so as if it wasn't bad enough with only one, there were two of these things. I'm surprised she didn't smash anything she saw her reflection in. I know that if I were that horrifying that I wouldn't want to see myself." Evie said.  
  
"Uglier than Piper when she became a Wendigo?" Phoebe asked, winking at Piper.  
  
Prue smiled. "Yeah, totally. As a Wendigo Piper would have been beautiful compared to this thing." Prue made a disgusting face. "Even its name was nasty. I can't even say it. It's like butchered English."  
  
"Wow, that's pretty gross." Phoebe sighed. "Did it, like...leave behind any...goop when you vanquished it?"  
  
"Nope, it just exploded." Prue answered.  
  
Deirdre's face turned blood red, and she launched out of her chair. "That's it!" She reached over and grabbed Brent around the neck. "You killed my sister! I kill your family!"  
  
Brent was clawing at her hand, trying to break free, but even using all his strength she didn't seem to lose her grip. Piper and Melinda both threw their hands up and froze her.  
  
"Okay, that's not supposed to happen." Piper announced. "Wanna get him out of there, Prue?"  
  
Prue used her power to pry Deirdre's arms apart, and Brent slid to the floor. Phoebe helped him up, and they moved away from Deirdre. Piper moved closer to Prue, and Hannah and Lila moved towards their mothers.  
  
"I don't like your plan anymore, Prue. Just say the spell." Piper prompted.  
  
"Fine." Prue pulled out a copy of the spell she used earlier that morning and recited it.  
  
Deirdre began to smoke. She unfroze and began her evil person laugh. Phoebe rolled her eyes at it, and then she yanked Piper closer.  
  
"Power of Three is stronger than one." She said.  
  
Prue and Piper got her meaning and they said the spell together as one. Deirdre was laughing and began to laugh even harder until she doubled over, grabbing her stomach. She fell to her knees. She gasped a few times and then started to get up. Melinda, Evie, and Brent started saying the spell and Prue, Piper, and Phoebe jumped in. The six read the spell, and Deirdre fell over in pain. She transformed into the creature with the fangs and the nose flaps. She started to shake as she curled into a ball.  
  
"No!" She screamed. "You killed my sister!" She coughed and started to smoke even more.  
  
A few moments later she fell over, unmoving and began to dissolve away. Piper looked over at Prue in questioning.  
  
"Is this what the other did?"  
  
"Nope, but this one is a lot stronger than the other." Prue said.  
  
They all looked over when they saw the blue lights fill the corner of the room. Leo and Marcus looked at the mess on the floor, which used to be Deirdre.  
  
"Is she gone?" Piper asked.  
  
"Yes." Marcus answered. "She was just trying to get you back to Ireland where they could slaughter you. Apparently, she wanted the whole family to get revenge for her sister's death. Unfortunately for her, she failed to tell the rest of her family what happened. Fortunately for you, that means there won't be anymore following."  
  
"Good." Phoebe marched over and gave Marcus a kiss. "I think it's time for dinner."  
  
Piper smiled. "Of course it is. If we were at your house it wouldn't be." Piper joked.  
  
"Probably not." Phoebe replied.  
  
The children all came up from the basement. They peeked around the corner until finally then ventured out into the Solarium. Brigit waved at Marcus.  
  
"Hi, Grampa." She muttered.  
  
"Come on, Melinda." Piper grabbed her daughter by the arm. "We're cooking."  
  
Melinda rolled her eyes and reached out trying to grab Evie. "No! Help me!" She pleaded, jokingly.  
  
Lila and Hannah looked at the goop on the floor. "I guess we can clean this." Hannah volunteered.  
  
"Sure, why not?" Lila agreed. "It just all seemed kind of easy."  
  
"It always looks easy when they do it." Hannah grunted.  
  
"They're just good at it, I guess." Brent piped up.  
  
"They are the Charmed Ones, after all." Evie told them, before ushering the kids out and into the Sitting room to watch a movie with her.  
  
21  
  
12 


End file.
